


Love R

by Theonewhosawitall



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Doubt, F/M, Fear, First Dates, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Heartbreak, Helicopters, Hostage Situations, Lost Love, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29920524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: Sick of watching Rick and Juliet flirting and never going any further, Kumu and TC make a plan to force them to admit their feelings.All goes well until Suzie forces Juliet to remember her feelings over Richard too.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	Love R

TC was beginning to wonder if this was actually a good plan or if it was just the rum and Kumu's confidence that made it seem like a good idea. Either way it was too late now. The helicopter was fuelled, Rick's porche had skidded to a halt by the hanger, and Kumu had made popcorn.

There was no going back now.

Juliet jumped out of the car grinning to herself as she did. Rick was slower but the look her shot her over the roof of the car told TC that they were teasing each other in the car again. They always seemed to he teasing each other these days.

"Any word as to where we're going yet?" Juliet asked.

"I told you, it's a potential new tour, it should be a surprise for you like it's a surprise for paying customers," TC lied.

"Good plan, I call shotgun!" Rick declared.

Juliet folded her arms, "I thought Katsumoto took Betty away?"

"He did, but he doesn't know about Bianca," Rick bounced his eyebrows as he grinned.

"Oooh, Bianca! Sounds sexy," Juliet purred playfully.

"She is, you jealous?" Rick teased.

"Do you want me to be?" Juliet snorted.

"You look good in green is all I'm saying," Rick shrugged.

TC rolled his eyes, "Guys, we don't have much time, we've got a take off slot booked!"

TC glanced towards the hanger where Kumu was watching them, mostly hidden behind a filing cabinet. TC pulled his headphones up over his ears and moved the microphone towards his mouth. She mirrored his actions and shot him a thumbs up. TC nodded back. He was nervous now. Actually facing down the barrel of their plane, it was looking more and more insane. But Rick was already in the helicopter.

"Ladies first," TC smiled politely.

He offered up a hand to help Juliet climb into the helicopter beside Rick. Juliet took it and looked pointedly to Rick.

"See Rick? This is what a gentleman looks like," she said.

"I can be a gentleman. I just prefer being a sexy bad boy," Rick winked.

Juliet scoffed, "Bad boy, man child, whatever you say."

Through his headphones, TC heard Kumu snickering. TC felt his heart beat a little faster.

"I shoulda never let you talk me into this," he muttered.

"Who else would help? You're the only one with wings Cupid!" Kumu countered.

And it had to be something that could fly. Trapping Rick and Juliet in anything else simply wouldn’t work. If it was on the ground they'd dig their way out, if it was elevated they'd break down a wall, if it was a car they'd jump out, a boat they'd swim to shore. Well Rick would anyway. He had water survival training. Juliet had water boarding training but that was as close as she got to swimming. But neither of them would jump out of a helicopter just to escape an awkward conversation.

"If this doesn't work you're paying half the fuel costs," TC warned.

"Trust me if this doesn’t work neither of us are staying on this island long. You've seen how Juliet trained those dogs against Thomas and that's just for fun!" Kumu said.

TC shuddered at the thought of Juliet wanting revenge against him. This had to work, if only to soften her wrath.

"Yo TC! We flying or what?!" Rick called.

"Keep your hair on Orville, I'm just doing last checks!" TC lied.

"Good luck captain," Kumu grinned.

TC rolled his eyes as he climbed into the front seat. As the helicopter steadily took off, carefully balancing itself despite the heavy weight of the fuel tanks at max take of limit, Kumu crunched down on her popcorn eagerly. She was full of anticipation.

"So is there a theme to this tour or are we really flying blind so to speak?" Juliet asked.

Rick groaned but chuckled. It might have been a bad pun but he was absolutely delighted that it came from her. TC didn't answer. He didn't want to give anything away until they were too high for either of them to jump. Rick furrowed his brow at that.

"You hear us man? The coms working? Testing, one, two-"

"The coms are fine Rick, I heard you."

"Then c'mon, what's the new theme? Is it something good - Y’know flight paths over some of Tommy's crime scenes could be interesting, he’s really gone all over this island," Rick smirked.

"Hasn't he just? Y’know that Ferrari had less than a hundred miles on it before he arrived, now look at it!" Juliet complained.

"Better than what he did to my friends boat," Rick shrugged.

"My experiences of sailing with Magnum are best forgotten thank you very much," Juliet countered.

The two of them chuckled at each other while TC just rolled his eyes. The fact that they couldn't see how they obviously felt about each other was infuriating. Rick leaned forward across the seats to nudge TC playfully.

"TC, you're being a lousy tour guide man. Where are we, what are we looking at?"

"We are 1,200 above AGL and 360 feet off of raw terrain," TC explained.

Rick pulled a face to Juliet that pretended to be impressed, but made it abundantly clear that he had no idea what that meant. Juliet smirked. She, being a pilot herself, understood what that meant. She didn't tell Rick that though.

"That means we should be clear of all traffic parameters for as long as this takes," TC explained.

"As long as what takes?" Juliet asked.

"This seems like a very boring tour," Rick warned.

"As long as it takes for you to admit you like each other."

Silence fell in the helicopter.

Well not silence, the noise of the blades rotating at high speed above them and the air gushing through the open doors was still pretty noisy, but both Juliet and Rick froze at the accusation. Rick couldn't bare to look back at her but he could feel her eyes boring into his skull. Then, finally, she cleared her throat.

"I’m sorry, what?" She asked.

"Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?!" Rick squeaked.

"I don’t know who either of you think you're kidding. You two are always stealing glances from each other and standing closer than you need to even with your sense of personal space Higgy-"

"What, just because we stand next to each other sometimes, we must like each other?! That's insane!"

"Yeah, c'mon Theodore you know me better than that!"

"I know you better than you know you which is why I know the truth."

"I don't know what you think you've seen TC but whatever it is it's clearly all in your head. Rick and I are just friends, nothing more!"

"Exactly, were just two good friends, that's it!"

"You can keep telling yourselves that, but we've got a full tank of gas and Shammy gave us an all clear mechanically so we've got all the time in the world."

Rick's heart felt like it was doing the samba in his chest. "There never was a new tour was there?"

"Nope. But in my defence a new tour made more sense than lying about Magnum wanting us all up in the air for surveillance like Kumu suggested," TC said.

"Hey don’t drag me into this! And remember to stay in range of the radio, you go all crackly when you fly past big buildings!" Kumu complained.

TC's first instinct was to apologise but then he bit his tongue. It was going to be hard enough getting them to admit to their feelings when it was just the three of them. If they knew Kumu was listening in, they would just point blank refuse to try.

"How long can this thing stay in flight for on a whole tank?" Juliet asked.

"As long as it takes," TC shrugged.

"So, for the record, you're essentially holding us hostage until we agree to a fictitious affection you've created in your head?!" Juliet demanded.

"Its the only way this is gonna happen before we're too old to enjoy it," TC said.

"Only way this happens before I'm dead!" Kumu agreed.

TC decided not to point out that this could very easily be the thing that got them killed. He didn't want to give them ideas.

"What are you doing man? This is not cool!" Rick warned him urgently.

"Look, sometimes, when you’re too afraid to take the next step towards what’s best for you, you just need a friend to give you a push," TC said. He tilted his head to meet Rick's eye, "consider this a push."

Rick frowned at him and chewed the inside of his cheek unhappily. It was obvious to him that TC was not going to change his mind. If he wanted out of this trap - and he did - TC would not help. So he leaned back to Juliet instead. She shifted awkwardly beside him. He stared dead ahead out of the windscreen as he tried to think of something to say.

"Uh... how - how long dyou think this flight can last?" He asked.

Juliet licked her lips and avoided looking his way as she thought out loud, "Assuming a cruising speed of 155 miles per hour, and the maximum take off weight being 2250 pounds, assuming we use 64 miles to the gallon-"

"A long time," Rick interrupted.

"Yes," she agreed grimly. "A long, long time."

"Talking about pushes, you didn't leave the parachutes within reach did you?" Kumu asked.

TC glanced down at the parachutes he had safely stowed in the foot space of the front passenger seat. They were technically within easy reach - they had to be for obvious reasons - but they were definitely out of the reach of Rick and Juliet anyway.

"What uh... what'd we do?" Rick asked uncertainly.

"Well that depends," Juliet said. She glanced towards Rick cautiously, "is it true?"

Rick's heart beat so hard he felt his ribs bend. "That I have feelings for you?! I mean, you're my friend a-and I love you - _l_ _ike_ a friend of course-"

"Right, yes, that's what I thought!" Juliet agreed quickly, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks, "friends. Nothing more."

"Right!" Rick nodded.

There was an awkward pause that was only filled by the sound of TC scoffing, because they couldn't hear Kumu yelling through her headphones.

"You're both terrible liars! How does she get anywhere as a private investor lying like that?! Ask her TC, go on, ask her!"

 _"Shhh!_ Girl you need to stop yelling, I can't hear anything!" TC hissed quietly.

Kumu grumbled apologetically, "sorry. This is kind of like a podcast, I hear everything and keep forgetting you can hear me too!"

Rick smacked his lips nervously as he tried to find the courage to ask the one question pressing down on him. He shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat. His eyes stayed firmly out of the door beside him so Juliet wouldn't see the hope in his eyes.

"You don’t uh... I mean it's ridiculous obviously," Rick gave a half scoff, half chuckle as he tried to ease his beating heart, "but if it takes two then... y-you don't uh, don’t like me like - like that... do you?"

Juliet was staring wide eyed and firmly at her feet the entire time, silently waiting for him to stammer his way to the end of his question. As he did, she could feel the blood pooling in her cheeks. When he finally reached the end, she let out a guffaw that was a little too frantic to be genuine.

"Of course not!" She laughed, before quickly and uncomfortably backtracking with, "not that I don’t _like_ you-"

"No, of course not!"

"Of course I do like you, but I don’t _like_ like you-"

"I like you too!"

"But I - I like you as a friend, and I wouldn’t want anything to come between us to ruin that-"

"Exactly, we are on the same page!"

"So, uh, no. No... no."

"Right, yeah, completely understood. Got it!"

Kumu's shoulders sagged as she raised an eyebrow at the helicopter above her and gave it the most unimpressed look she had ever given anyone.

"TC just crash the helo. It will save us all a lot of time."

TC laughed abruptly. He had been holding it in the whole time the two of them were talking but as soon as Kumu deadpan asked him to crash, it just came out. Rick and Juliet both tensed.

"What's so funny?!" Rick demanded.

"Ah you two man," TC chuckled, "Orville here's always saying to be a good barman means being able to connect and understand people and you Higgy, you investigate people and uncover lies for a living. Here you are lying to each other and neither of you notice!"

"Nice!" Kumu crunched her popcorn approvingly.

"My job has absolutely no impact on this conversation because Rick would never lie to me! Right Rick?" Juliet said.

Rick's jaw opened but no words came out. He was rather stuck between a rock and a hard place with that one.

"He does not, he lied about who won the swing ball competition," Kumu said.

"Swing ball?" TC repeated, confused.

Rick's chest tightened, "alright, that was one little lie and it didn’t even last because Magnum sold me out!"

Juliet tilted her head as she considered this. "But that was a lie... you _did_ lie to me..."

Rick's chest tightened again and he squeaked, "that doesn't count! And anyway you were lying to all of us about breaking your arm-"

"No, I was pretending to be injured to preserve my dignity, not to lie to you-"

"It was still a lie! A weird lie but still a lie!"

"So what are you saying, we cant trust a word one another says?!"

"That's ridiculous, of course we can! I helped you own up to that broken arm lie, right?"

"And I helped you own up to liking Suzie."

"Right... Suzie..."

Rick had bailed out of admitting his feelings to Juliet at the last second and claimed to like Suzie instead. It brought him time to work on how to own up later, but kumu didn't have the patience to wait.

"Except Rick isn't dating Suzie because they work together," she pointed out, "And Juliet broke up with Ethan because they didn't get to spend any time together. But Juliet doesn't work with Rick and Rick owns the bar so controls his own schedule-"

"They cant hear you!" TC pointed out, a little too loudly.

"Can't hear who?"

"Is someone spying on us TC?"

"Um..." TC swore under his breath.

At the other end of the call, he heard Kumu mutter, "Whoops."

"Who do you have spying on us?" Juliet asked firmly.

TC shifted uncomfortably as he tried to think of an excuse. "Why should I tell you the truth when you're here trying to make a full out of me huh?"

Juliet moved to argue but she wasn't sure if there was anything she could say to convince him to own up. Besides she had a better plan.

"Fine, if you wont tell me-"

Rick raised an eyebrow as Juliet wriggled to get to her phone in her back pocket. He watched, curiously, as she made a call.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm investigating. Its my job, remember?" Juliet said, pointedly.

Kumu's eyes moved slowly towards her phone as it lit up on the table beside her. Sure enough, Juliet's name appeared on her screen. She pulled her head phones down and took a breath to steady herself.

"Aloha?"

"Kumu, hi, it's just me - is Magnum at the house with you?"

Kumu dropped her head back in relief. Juliet thought she was back at the estate. She had no idea she was the spy. She was out of trouble! Until she remembered that she wasn’t at the house and she had no idea where Thomas was or what he was up to.

"Uh, isn't he with you?" She asked innocently.

"No. No, I'm currently being held hostage on a helicopter above - well above the water at the moment, not sure where exactly," Juliet said.

TC snickered. He could hear the whole conversation and no one else knew. Kumu continued to play innocent.

"Oh. Do you need me to track your phone?" She offered.

"No, no, its only TC. He seems to think Rick and I are in love. Or denial. I'm not sure which," Juliet said, pointedly.

Kumu tilted her head to try and pretend that she wasn’t part of the plan. "Maybe its both. Are you in denial that you love him?"

"Not you too Kumu!" Juliet groaned.

"I don’t mean to imply anything Juliet! All I'm saying is that you and Rick are always stealing glances. And you always try to sit next to him at poker night. And even though you say his singing is bad, you've been to almost every karaoke night since he brought the bar-"

"Alright thank you Kumu!" Juliet said sharply, "Just, can you please call me if Magnum comes home?"

"If I see him, I'll let you know," Kumu promised.

"Mahalo."

Juliet was deliberately not looking at Rick again. He cocked his head to the side to try and catch her eye but she refused.

"What'd she say?" Rick asked.

"Nothing of importance," Juliet started.

"Then why are your cheeks red?" TC smirked.

She scowled, "This is ridiculous. It's utterly childish! What’s more, even if I said I liked Rick, it wouldn't hold up in court because it's coerced!"

With Juliet back on the defensive Rick gave up on trying to figure out what Kumu had said to make her blush like that, and instead leapt to back her up.

"Exactly! If you wanted the truth you wouldn't get it by holding us hostage!"

"I wouldn't get it on the ground either. You two are real chickens when it comes to love!" TC said, "What are you afraid of, happiness?"

"Just because you gave up the woman you love to a guy you never even met doesn't make you an expert on love or happiness!" Rick snapped.

Juliet's head snapped up to stare at Rick. Rick closed his eyes as a wave of regret instantly hit him. TC tensed. He went very quiet. The wind brought an icy shiver to the air.

"That's cold Orville."

TC stated it so plainly. So lacking in emotion. It was a statement of fact. Rick had pushed too far. Juliet smacked him to the chest with the back of her hand.

"Way to antagonize the pilot Orville!"

Rick wrinkled his nose apologetically, "Sorry..."

The moment he apologised TC shifted his shoulders like he could get the weight to roll off his back like water off a duck. He was never one to hold onto a grudge.

"What you lashing out for anyway? Something pushing a little too close to the truth for you?" He asked sternly.

"I'm a grown ass man Theodore, I don't need my friends to trap me and a girl in a closet to get a date anymore!" Rick grumbled.

Juliet frowned, "What?"

Rick blinked at her. He felt his ears burn. "Seven minutes in heaven? You didn’t have that back home?"

"Not at the parties I went to. It was more, drink alcohpops until you vomit a rainbow and then go home," Juliet said.

"At fourteen?!" Rick cried, horrified.

Juliet was baffled. Partly because she knew he had been stealing alcohol from his elders since he was thirteen and partly because it was a much bigger reaction that she was expecting. She shrugged innocently.

"Back in the UK it's legal to drink in your own home at age five."

Rick stared at her, shocked, and then rolled his eyes and sarcastically declared, "The beautiful powerhouse of British culture everyone!"

TC raised his eyes to the heavens. Rick was like a cornered animal sometimes. If he felt trapped, he lashed out at anyone around him. Juliet scowled at him.

"Yes alright! None of that helps with _t_ _his_ now does it?!"

"Ask them about Apollo," Kumu said.

"What about Apollo?" TC asked.

Juliet snapped up like a marionette that had been yanked by a string. "Who told you about Apollo? Did you tell him-"

"No, I didn't, I swear!" Rick insisted.

"If you didn't and I didn't- the only other person who knew..." Juliet trailed off as her face filled with realization.

Kumu pursed her lips, "Ut oh..."

"This was all Kumu's idea wasn't it?" Juliet demanded.

"Hey now I ain't about to sell a sister out. If it was all her idea, I wouldn't be here," TC laughed.

"Whatever she told you happened, she's wrong," Rick insisted.

"I don’t know how I could be wrong, I saw what I saw," Kumu said.

"It wasn't anything like what she assumed," Juliet insisted.

"Then what was it?" TC asked eagerly.

Both Rick and Juliet shared a tentative look and Kumu really wished she had more popcorn again. TC felt a bolt of thrill through his chest. They were onto something now. He wasn't about to let go until he found out what. Finally Rick just sighed and tossed a hand into the air. It was his defeated way of giving Juliet permission to tell.

"Um," she cleared her throat uncomfortably and TC shifted in his seat like a toddler eager for story time. "So since they're part of the security of the estate the lads have to be insured. Every year they have updated checks to ensure they’re at the peak of prowess, and they have their photos taken. I wanted them to look presentable, but the lads don't like baths. Usually I just hire a groomer but since the estate is now mine and is therefore in financial disarray-"

"She asked me if I could help her bathe the dogs," Rick finished.

"Exactly," Juliet agreed.

"Okay? and then what happened?" TC asked.

"Well, um... okay so I went over and I helped Higgy round up the dogs, but they're sneaky! They’re fast anyway and once they’re covered in soap they’re slippery too. We got soaked," Rick said.

"Yes, and I felt so bad that I had gotten Rick covered in soap and fur and mud-" Juliet continued.

"Mud?" TC interrupted, I thought you were washing them? Where's this mud come from?"

"Apollo escaped into the garden-" Juliet began.

"I left the door open like an idiot," Rick confessed.

Juliet's hand landed on his wrist to assure him, "But less like an idiot, he managed to catch Apollo again."

Rick gave a soft smile at the way she squeezed his wrist. Juliet glanced up at his face for a fleeting second before the soft look in his deep blue eyes made her stomach flip. She snatched her eyes away again.

"It's not easy, Apollo is trained for out manoeuvring and attack. And he was extra slippery! Rick managed to catch him and carry him back to the bath without injuring himself which is actually rather impressive," she continued.

"Thank you," Rick grinned proudly.

"You’re welcome," she shrugged.

TC nodded along, wondering when the good bit was going to come up. "Then what?"

"Then I saw Rick half naked in Juliet's sitting room!" Kumu cried.

"Kumu saw you naked?!" TC choked.

His hand jolted on the controls but he quickly caught it and pulled the helicopter stable again. He was absolutely beaming in delight though. Especially since he could practically feel the heat of Rick's burning cheeks from here.

 _"No!_ No I had boxers on- God! That does not get any less embarrassing!"

"Why were you naked?!" TC laughed.

"I wasn’t naked-"

"Why didn't you have clothes on?!"

"Well like I said we were soaked!"

"Rick's clothes were covered in soap, water, mud and dog fur, it was a mess," Juliet fought hard to keep her voice level, "I offered to have Rick's outfit dry cleaned but to do that he needed to borrow some of Magnum's clothes, which meant I had to borrow some of his clothes and while I was gone-"

"He was naked?" TC grinned.

"Kumu walked in at just the wrong time," Rick grumbled.

"No I did not, my timing was perfect," Kumu snickered.

"This is so embarrassing," Juliet muttered.

"How'd you think I feel?!" Rick asked drily.

"I feel great!" TC laughed.

He was still laughing when Kumu's voice came through again, although grimmer this time. "Don't speak too soon TC, I just got a call from Thomas. He says he's been trying to reach you, have you got your phone?"

"No, I must have left it in the office with you. What'd he want?" TC asked.

"He says he's in a speed race with a suspect and could use overhead visual," Kumu said.

"Coming right up," TC nodded.

Since they already had the helicopter in the air and enough fuel to help Thomas as well as the two stubborn idiots in the back, there was little point in refusing the call.

"Strap in guys, we've been summoned to action," TC ordered.

"What? By who?" Rick frowned.

"Who'd you think?" TC smirked.

"Magnum's supposed to be collecting pay from a client today, I cant imagine- no, never mind, I can definitely imagine him messing that up!" Juliet said, grimly.

"Classic Tommy," Rick chuckled warmly.

As frustrated as Rick usually was to be summoned to Magnum's aid at the drop of a hat, his timing really was impeccable. Juliet phoned Magnum to secure a line of communication. Again Kumu regretted not packing more popcorn.

"Higgy! Where are you, I could really use my partner right now!" Thomas sounded frantic and out of breath.

"I'm on my way with Rick and TC," Juliet assured him.

"Why?!" Thomas's confused frown was audible.

Rick could practically see it in front of them. He chuckled to see the instinct reaction of Juliet. Eye rolls were practically a sign of affection from her.

"For company, why'd you think Tommy?! We were testing out TC's fake new tour!"

"Fake new - what?!"

"The tour I told you about this morning, if you ever listened-"

"Okay, look, now is not the time - I'm in Kaneohe how long before you can -"

The helicopter rose higher above the green mountain ridge, just in time to see the Ferrari weaving through traffic like speed laws didn’t exist.

"Aloha!" TC grinned.

They fell into action as easily as breathing. Rick acted as a look out, yelling directions back to Juliet who echoed them to Magnum while TC kept the helicopter level. Magnum felt like a video game character as he followed their instructions to the letter. Even when that meant jumping across two privately owned walls to cut the suspect off in an alley. When he finally tackled him down to the ground, Juliet cheered in delight. She had been so swept up in the action that the surge of victory in her chest felt earned. Rick watched the way she bit her lip sheepishly and apologised for getting carried away. She used her hair to curtain her face and hide away while she congratulated Magnum on his capture, but Rick could still see her smile.

Her small, private, pleased smile, brimming with pride and affection. It made his heart flutter.

Juliet glanced his way as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. The way he snatched his eyes away made her heart beat harder. His cheeks looked rosy. She put it down to adrenaline.

"Well done guys. We make a good team," Juliet beamed.

"Yeah we do!" Rick grinned.

"Hoorah!" TC cried.

"Hoorah!" Rick echoed.

Juliet chuckled again. A light melodic sound that made Rick's smile too big to hide. If she ever caught him looking at her with all the affection in the world like that, maybe she would have realised why they were trapped in a helicopter right now.

"I Can't believe I'm missing all the action. I feel so left out!" Kumu complained.

TC chuckled warmly, "actions over now. Just sit tight and enjoy the show."

Rick looked away sharply when Juliet flicked her hair out of her eyes and turned to look at him.

"So uh, now that that's over, how much fuel do we have left?" Juliet asked.

"Doesn't matter. I'm not landing until you see the way that Rick smiles when you show your soft side or you show Rick how intently you watch him when he thinks no one is," TC said firmly.

"I... don’t know what you’re talking about!" Juliet lied urgently.

"Please! You've watched Rick fooling around with those cocktail shakers so many times now that I'm willing to bet that you can make one yourself," TC snickered.

"That's ridiculous," She scoffed.

"Says you!" TC snickered.

Juliet groaned in frustration. Meanwhile Rick chewed his lip thoughtfully. This wasn’t exactly how he saw this happening - actually this wasn’t even on his radar of potential ways of this happening - but his insides were itching to let her know how he felt so badly that it felt like he was on fire sometimes. He wanted her to know the truth. He wanted to know if TC was right.

He needed to.

"We don't feel that way TC!" Juliet insisted.

"Actually..." Rick began, uncertainly.

Silence filled the helicopter again as Juliet's eyes leapt onto him. In the front seat TC laughed triumphantly.

"Yes-s-s, my man!" He was bursting with pride.

Juliet just stared at him. "What?"

this wasn't so bad really. It was a private helicopter ride over paradise after all. There were worse places to be rejected.

"I uh... I didn't want to say anything..." he began slowly.

When he tried off again she pulled him back into the conversation by simply demanding, "Rick?"

And he winced. "I know it's stupid... I know it's dangerous... you should never develop feelings for a friend because it could ruin your friendship, and I know you don't have many of them, and I definitely didn’t want to make you uncomfortable..."

Juliet's heart was racing so fast it was making her slightly dizzy. She was having a hard time looking way from Rick, even though he would not look in her direction at all. She was scanning his face for any indication of a lie. From this angle at least, she couldn't see one.

"What... what are you saying?"

"I kinda... sorta... might have a few, tiny, overwhelming feelings for you..." Rick admitted sheepishly. Then, under his breath, he muttered, "sorry about that..."

"Way to go brother! Opening up your heart, feeling your feelings! I'm proud of you!" TC grinned proudly.

"I'm so happy when I'm right," Kumu chuckled.

"Since when?" Juliet urged.

"I uh... I don’t really know?" Rick shrugged apologetically, "I think they've been growing for a while and I didn't really notice until..."

"Until?" Juliet demanded.

She had to know the details. She had to know the exact moments, the exact reasons - she was burning with an unquenchable need for information. Rick did his best to help, but he was embarrassed.

"Until you were high and flirting with Ethan right in front of us and it felt like being slowly set on fire. Watching you be like that with someone else... I dunno it killed me."

Rick shrugged like that was it. Like it was just a statement of fact. Embarrassing facts but still just facts. And Juliet just stared at him. She was utterly floored by how breezily he threw grenades into conversation like that. He blew up her entire world, and coyly offered her a bright shiny new one.

"Wow." Was all she could think to say.

"Sorry." Was all Rick could offer.

"You have nothing to be sorry for -" TC began.

"TC shut up man, cant you see this is hard enough without you chiming in?!" Rick snipped.

"I was just trying to be supportive," TC shrugged.

"I thought you were very supportive," Kumu said.

"Mahalo Kumu," TC said, pointedly.

Juliet heard none of this. She was sitting there, hunched over her knees, like she was processing and comparing in her head. Rick sat back and tentatively waited for her to push him out of the helicopter all together. He could feel it coming. Honestly, he didn’t blame her. If self preservation wasn’t so deeply engrained in him, Rick would have jumped already. When the silence got too much to bare, he cleared his throat again.

‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍"Look, Higgy, I don't want this to change things between us -"

"When Icepick got you caught up in a murder you had nothing to do with."

Rick's face fell. He blinked, confused. Juliet interrupted him as if this was the most important information she could ever give him. He didn’t understand it. She still refused to even look in his direction.

"Huh?" Rick muttered.

Juliet swallowed. "It physically hurt to watch you look to sad... I don't like seeing you sad. I thought... I thought if there was any way that I could fix that whole problem in a way that Icepick didn't have to get arrested and you could have some more time with him... but there was nothing I could do and it hurt... and that's when I knew I had a crush on you."

TC had to physically bite his lip to keep from cheering. Kumu though was already dancing in the office like she had won the lottery. Juliet's cheeks burned.

Rick was floored.

"I... I had no idea you felt that way," he choked out.

She shrugged, sheepishly, "I'm very good at hiding things."

"Then... then uh, then we both like each other..."

"Yes. We seem to."

"Right..."

TC rolled his eyes as he held in the urge to yell at them to hurry up and kiss already. They had already been up here for hours and they didn't have that much fuel left.

"Maybe," he said, choosing his words carefully, "maybe you should try going on a date. Put us all out of your misery."

"That sounds..." Rick glanced away from TC and towards Juliet uncertainly. He didn't want to overstep the mark. Juliet looked back at him, sucking in her lips hopefully. Rick swallowed.

"Shall we try a date?"

"I..."

Juliet felt as though someone was squeezing on her heart. Rick did his best to hold his gaze, even though everything in him wanted to jump out the door again. His eyes were soft and pained as he waited for her answer. His chest was aching. It was the longest three seconds of his life.

"Yeah. Okay, why not?"

TC did not hold in his triumphant laughter. He was busy whooping the air while Rick himself looked like he was going to faint. Juliet was still blushing. At least now they could finally land this helicopter. Juliet leapt out first as soon as it landed. Rick followed, calling over his shoulder about never agreeing to test another tour for TC in his life. Then Juliet quietly took his hand and his belly hit the floor. She gave him a small smile and lead him way towards his car.

"See you are the bar TC!" She called over her shoulder.

"I wanna be there when Magnum finds out! Don’t tell him without me!" TC yelled.

"I'll do whatever I like without you!" Rick yelled back.

TC laughed again. He swaggered over towards his hanger with the proudest grin. Kumu raised her head to smile at him. She held out his phone. As he reached to take it, she pulled it back so he had to look up at her.

She smiled, proudly. "Congratulations Cupid. You smacked some sense into those bozos."

TC chuckled warmly, "couldn't have done it without you sister. We make a good team."

“The best,” Kumu grinned.


End file.
